Aliaksei Protas scored a crazy buzzer beater against the New Jersey Devils to give the Washington Capitals a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.
As the seconds waned, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin picked off an attempted Devils clearing attempt, spun, and found a crease-crashing Protas in front of goaltender Jake Allen.
Protas got enough on his shot to lift the puck over Allen’s shoulder and score with just 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock.
“Yeah, I saw it was like five seconds on the clock, and I made eye contact with O, and look, just unbelievable play by him,” Protas told Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken during the first intermission. “Just tried to shovel that in, and luckily it got in.”
The marker came shortly after Protas assisted on a Dylan Strome goal that was taken off the board via an offside challenge by the Devils.
New Jersey recorded the first eight shots on goal in the first period, but the Capitals were able to turn the flow of the game back in their favor, culminating in Protas’s tally.
“I think couple good shifts in a row turned the momentum around, kinda like Stromer’s goal that got disallowed got us going, too,” Protas said. “Tried to find our game back, and I think we did in the second half, but gotta keep it going.”
Protas’s goal was his 14th of the 2025-26 campaign and fourth in his last five games. He now has 25 points (14g, 11a) in 37 games this season.
The 24-year-old Belarusian lined up on the team’s second line with Strome and Tom Wilson.